Cisco MDS Series vs Dell PowerStore comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Enterprise SAN category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 9.0, while Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 7.6% mindshare in ES, compared to Dell Technologies’s 31.4% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco MDS Series

Read 9 Cisco MDS Series reviews

826 Views
536 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Dell PowerStore

Read 84 Dell PowerStore reviews

1,067 Views
658 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Cisco MDS Series

Dell PowerStore

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco MDS Series and Dell PowerStore based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Enterprise SAN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore

April 2025

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Helped 849,963 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco MDS Series

Ranking in Enterprise SAN

3rd

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Dell PowerStore

Ranking in Enterprise SAN

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Warehouse (4th), NAS (2nd), All-Flash Storage (1st), NVMe All-Flash Storage Arrays (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Cisco MDS Series is 7.6%, down from 27.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerStore is 31.4%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise SAN

Featured Reviews

OğuzKalaycı

system engineer at Yaşar Holding

Ensures consistent availability during updates and integrates seamlessly

I am using Cisco MDS in SAN environments for storage connections and server connections The product is very stable and performs well. During the update periods, the devices do not need to reload, ensuring constant availability. It is easy to set up and use. I do not have a central management…

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Brian Ricci

President at Pinnacle Computer Services, Inc.

It's constantly enhanced and has impressive reliability and data compression

The maintenance is a bit expensive. The service and support are there for three years, but after the third year, it is pretty pricey for renewal. I hope Dell addresses that. Everything is pricey these days anyway. It is not like the old days of Compellent. We used to be able to see the metrics for our customers. On Compellent, we could look up that customer and see all the metrics. That is not allowed for us now. We cannot do that anymore. I have to be explicitly allowed by the customer to do that, and some companies' security does not allow that.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security."

"The features I found most valuable are the ease of deployment, it's easy to upgrade, easy to configure and easy to administer. There is no need for vendor professional services which saves project cost. The usage of WebUI for all primary features like hostname, IP address, SNMP traps, zone sets, addition and deletion of zone members or zone sets, backup of switch DB is very simple."

"The product is easy to use."

"SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are a valuable feature of the solution for our company."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning."

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is its reliability, support, and scalability."

"The issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable."

"The product is very stable and performs well."

"Pricing is very good. It's very competitive against those of all the others that I looked at in the marketplace, such as Hitachi, IBM, HP, and Pure. Dell is right there in the mix as far as providing the best price point as well as meeting the performance requirements that we have."

"The most valuable feature is that it is easy to use this frame. I am a SAN administrator, but I was able to train my colleague, who had only been a VMware administrator, on the PowerStore in about half a day. Now he's autonomous in assigning volumes and creating data stores..."

"Dell PowerStore has good value for money and some scalability features that are better than other products."

"The main feature of Dell PowerStore is its support for NVMe as well as hybrid solutions."

"A particularly valuable feature is its simplicity."

"Overall, we're quite happy with the product because we can move the data that is stored on more than 10 of our current storage devices to a single PowerStore."

"This solution is very useful to us as we use it internally for all of the services that we need. We use it as a lab and we showcase new technology to the customers and how it can help them going forward."

"The platform's reliability and built-in replication between disk systems have made our customers happy. It has worked consistently well over the years."

More Dell PowerStore pros

Cons

"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."

"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having API functionality for automation and programming."

"It is quite a stable product. It should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid download and upload schema at the beginning of the initial setup. There should also be the possibility of downgrading the firmware when required. WebUI needs DCNM instead a web-based GUI should be made available like Brocade san switch."

"The licensing model could be less complicated."

"I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling."

"Cisco MDS Series could improve by adding more gigahertz. However, they are doing this over time."

"The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it."

"The product is very expensive."

"We'd like to see some improvements on the security side."

"Dell PowerStore is a good solution overall, but some models could support hypervisors better by allowing for more customization and flexibility for customer needs."

"The biggest area in PowerStore that needs improvement is the overall visibility within the ESX environment."

"The previous version of Dell PowerStore we used was easier to use compared to the current one. They have made it more cumbersome to handle, although it still works. It has become more complicated to manage."

"After upgrades, there were a few bugs in the product, and it can be considered as an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The UI should be a little more user-friendly to manage."

"The data resiliency and cybersecurity features of Dell PowerStore are just normal and would be considered medium; we need additional components such as cybersecurity vault for increased resilience."

"The setup process could be improved. We had some issues regarding configuration and the time it took to do things. It wasn't specifically the people we worked with, but more the process and how it's done. They can work on that."

More Dell PowerStore cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing cannot be considered an advantageous trait of the solution since it is expensive. I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"The price of the Cisco MDS Series is high."

"It's perpetual licensing and maintenance is a recurrent cost."

"If we use the 500 or 1000, the licensing and pricing are reasonable. PowerStore can compete with any vendor and the price isn't that expensive."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"I rate the price of Dell PowerStore a seven out of ten."

"The software features are included in the pricing without any additional purchase requirements."

"The licensing for this solution is good and is in the mid-range tier."

"We are currently using Dell PowerStore for our smaller storage and there is no competition for pricing."

"Dell PowerStore is affordable and the license is just a face license which is great."

"The price is not cheap, but it's worth it for the features you get from the storage. If you can afford it, you are probably buying the best solution that you can have for this virtual environment."

More Dell PowerStore pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

24%

Government

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco MDS Series?

The product is easy to use.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco MDS Series?

The pricing could be improved as the solution is very expensive. I am on a yearly payment basis.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco MDS Series?

I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling.

See all answers

What do you think about Dell EMC PowerStore? Is it actually a new product?

PowerStore is flexible, scalable, simple, and performant with market-leading economics for a wide range of legacy and next-gen apps. It is only Flash and can support many workloads from today's app...

See all answers

How does Dell's EMC PowerStore compare with its EMC Unity XT?

Dell EMC PowerStore is a unified storage platform that has the added benefit of being scalable. The automated management of resources feature provides a more simple administration. I found the flex...

See all answers

What's the difference between DELL EMC Powerstore and Powermax NVMe?

Dell PowerStore is an all-solid-state midrange storage system. It has many internal elements taken from other Dell offerings and integrated into the PowerStoreOS. The installation and setup have a ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell Connectrix vs Cisco MDS Series

Compared 62% of the time

HPE B-series SN6000B Fibre Channel Switch vs Cisco MDS Series

Compared 38% of the time

More Cisco MDS Series Competitors

HPE Alletra Storage vs Dell PowerStore

Compared 14% of the time

Dell Unity XT vs Dell PowerStore

Compared 14% of the time

Dell PowerVault vs Dell PowerStore

Compared 9% of the time

IBM FlashSystem vs Dell PowerStore

Compared 9% of the time

NetApp AFF vs Dell PowerStore

Compared 8% of the time

More Dell PowerStore Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Enterprise SAN

March 2025

Download Cisco MDS Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerStore

April 2025

Download Dell PowerStore product report

Also Known As

Cisco MDS 9100, Cisco MDS 9222i, Cisco MDS 9700

PowerStore

Overview

Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches have met and often exceeded the demanding requirements for storage area networks for more than a decade. They offer a combination of performance, non-stop operations, and multiprotocol flexibility.

Cisco

Dell PowerStore stands out for its high performance, flexibility, and easy integration with VMware. It offers notable data compression and deduplication capabilities while providing powerful NVMe support and machine learning to optimize IT operations.

Dell PowerStore is designed to offer a comprehensive approach to IT infrastructure by enhancing performance and simplifying management. It is particularly suitable for companies that require scalable solutions to increase compute or capacity independently. Featuring built-in intelligence, PowerStore allows efficient storage consolidation and reduced footprint, while integration with CloudIQ enhances monitoring and analytics. However, there are areas for improvement, such as stability, enterprise features, and the user interface. Pricing is high, and support responsiveness needs attention. Organizations primarily use PowerStore for VMware environments, storage, and data protection, supporting high-performance databases and VMware workloads. It is utilized in data centers for disaster recovery and hybrid setups.

What are the key features of Dell PowerStore?

Flexibility: Independently scales compute or capacity
High Performance: Offers powerful NVMe support and machine learning
Integration: Easily integrates with VMware
Data Efficiency: Provides data compression and deduplication
Simplified Management: Built-in intelligence for efficient storage management

What benefits should users consider?

Performance Optimization: Enhance IT operations with machine learning
Scalability: Increase compute or storage capacity as needed
Integration Potential: Improve efficiency with VMware and CloudIQ
Data Protection: Reliable for disaster recovery and hybrid environments

In industries like IT, finance, and healthcare, Dell PowerStore supports efficient data management and enhances infrastructure performance. Organizations leverage it to manage extensive data, streamline virtualization processes, and facilitate migration from legacy systems, while integrating cloud and on-premises infrastructures for improved operations.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

National Rugby League

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore

April 2025

Free Report: Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerStore

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